One question that board visitors and posters might ask is,

“If I am convinced that at least some of our powerful earthquakes can be predicted, and if I am in contact with fairly influential U.S. Policy Makers, why am I not putting more pressure on them to get the U.S. to learn how to predict earthquakes?”

In fact that day could be on the horizon. It is likely largely a matter of time and effort. However, there is an important reason that essentially no pressure has been put on them to date to get them to do anything along those lines.

As I have stated in other postings to this board, it is my opinion that our global lack of environmentally safe and affordable energy is the most serious material problem threatening the health and lives of people around the world. In comparison, earthquake related threats can hardly even be measured.

So, most of the pressure that I have applied and am continuing to apply to U.S. Policy Makers has been to get them to take a greater interest in finding and developing new sources of environmentally safe, affordable energy. And if they are not constantly reminded that the energy needs to be environmentally safe they seem to deliberately and conveniently forget that, as in “Drilling for more oil will solve everything.”

Occasionally I tell them that earthquakes can be predicted. But so far, that has not been emphasized.

So, what has resulted from those efforts to date?

If you examine the proposed U.S. budget for 2013 visible at the U.S. government Web site you will see that whereas probably many government agencies are scheduled for budget cuts, the Department of Energy is scheduled to have a budget increase. And taking into account the budget cut that they did not get plus the increase that they are scheduled to get, that increase is especially large.

People can debate if my advise etc. to U.S. Policy Makers is having anything to do with their attitudes regarding energy resource development. But, this demonstrates that those policy makers and I are at least in good agreement regarding what needs to be done to improve things.

It is my understanding that the USGS is scheduled for a budget cut. And people might consider the following:

Why would I want to tell U.S Policy Makers that some agency should get a budget increase when the people working for the agency appear to me, at least, to be fighting or perhaps strongly resisting any and all efforts that I am making to get the U.S. to save lives by developing effective earthquake forecasting programs?

At least Department of Energy of personnel appear to be trying to move in the same direction as I am.

These are personal opinions.